The Proposal
by Rose DiVerona
Summary: It's Valentine's Day, and Roger asks Mimi a very important question...


A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! I'm a sucker for romantic one-shots, so I wrote one of my own to commemorate the Holiday of Love. Mimi/Roger. Second proposal I've written for them in my stories so far...what can I say, I love 'em!

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**The Proposal**

Roger Davis sat on the end of his bed, smiling at the little box he held cupped in his palms. The deep, red velvet felt soft against his skin, and he closed his eyes and imagined that he was stroking _her_ face instead. Her dark hair shining in the moonlight, her perfect lips curved gently for a kiss, her eyes…but the one detail he could never seem to memorize about Mimi, his favorite part, were her eyes. It was if seeing those eyes everywhere in Santa Fe months ago burned the ability out of him now. He had to see her, had to actually look into those twin stars to recall their beauty.

A knock on the door interrupted him from his musings. Mark poked his head in.

"You ready?" he asked, a knowing smile lighting up his face.

Roger nodded, tucking the box carefully into his pocket and taking two long strides to the door, following his friend down the hall to the living area. The room was transformed. Even though, for once, the Loft had power, all the lights had been turned off in favor of the soft glow of what seemed like hundreds of flickering candles, each one of them pure white. They covered every available surface save one. The Loft's only table was set up in the area the couch usually took up (the couch was pushed against the wall, nearly out of sight in the shadows), and was covered with a plastic, red-and-white checkered tablecloth. Two tall, red candles adorned the table, as well as a vase fragrant with fresh, red roses. To complete the room's effect, red and white rose petals had been scattered everywhere.

Roger felt a lump in his throat as he gazed around at the effects of an afternoon's hard work. Dinner, compliments of Joanne, and, or she claimed, Maureen, was in the oven.

"I'm going to go meet Lacy at the Life now," Mark said, referring to his girlfriend of one month. "Mimi should be up in about fifteen minutes."

"Thanks," Roger murmured. He cleared his throat. "I mean, thanks for helping me set up today."

Mark smiled. "That was the easy part. You're the one who has to pop the question." He hesitated in the doorway. "Should I…spend the night at Collins' place tonight?"

Roger shook his head. "We'll go downstairs," he promised. "That is, if she says yes and all."

His friend rolled his eyes. "She will. You worry too much. Good luck."

Roger was barely conscious of the door closing. His eyes were scanning the room, checking for any mistakes in the vicinity. Not being able to find any, he had to content himself with staring at the timer on the stove to make sure the dinner wasn't burning. It still had twenty minutes left, but he figured you could never be _too _careful.

The knock on the door almost made him jump out of his skin in surprise. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then crossed the room and opened the door just a bit.

She looked beautiful. Her hair fell perfectly over her white blouse, and she wore a red peasant skirt that fell to her knees. Despite the cold weather outside, she wore leather sandals that showed off hot red toenails.

She smiled at him, shoving a lock of hair behind her silver hoop earrings and catching hold of her silver heart locket.

"You going to let me in?"

He shook himself out of his stupor. "Oh…yeah, yeah come on in." He stepped back, anticipating her reaction to the room.

She didn't disappoint him. Her jaw dropped.

"Roger – it's…wow!"

"You like it?" he asked hopefully.

"I love it!" she stood on tiptoes and kissed him.

"I know you were disappointed I didn't want to go out to dinner tonight, but I sort of had this idea and thought it would be even better…"

"It is." She assured him.

He escorted her to the table, pulling out her chair for her. "I'll get the dinner. It should be ready by now."

"You made dinner, too?" she asked, impressed.

"Well…no," he admitted. "Maureen and Joanne did most of it. And I can't take all the credit for the decorations, either. They were my idea, but Mark helped me set up."

"You got everyone's help just for me?"

Roger turned, halfway through taking the casserole out of the oven. "Of course," he said softly. "I love you."

Mimi beamed.

In no time, Roger had dinner all set up and had poured himself and Mimi glasses of wine. He raised his glass.

"To Valentine's Day," he toasted.

"To Valentine's Day," Mimi echoed. "To us," she added before sipping.

They ate quietly for a while, and then Mimi sat back and eyed Roger suspiciously.

"What?" he asked.

"What's really going on here?" she asked. "This is so unlike you!"

"I can't be romantic for one night for my girlfriend?" he pouted.

"Okay, okay," Mimi put her hands up in defense. "Maybe you can. But I've got my eye on you. Something's up."

Roger stifled a smile and got up to serve the dessert. After stuffing themselves full with chocolate cake (compliments of a bakery Joanne frequented), the couple progressed to talking about their day so far with as much gusto as if they had not just seen each other the night before. Roger half-listened, half-daydreamed about his girlfriend as he stared into her eyes. Those perfect, meaningful pools of beauty.

"….Roger! Roger!" Mimi snapped her fingers rapidly, waking him from his daze.

"Huh? Sorry, what did you say?"

Mimi sighed. "You weren't listening to a word I was saying, were you?"

"Yes, I was," he lied.

She rolled her eyes. "Liar."

The time had come.

"Okay, I wasn't. But only because I was stunned speechless by how great you look tonight. Mimi…there's something I want to ask you." He got off his chair and knelt in front of hers, taking out the red box and opening it to reveal a silver engagement ring set with a small diamond. She gasped, and put a hand over her mouth. "Mimi Marquez – I love you. Ever since I saw you, I have known you are the only one for me. I want to spend the rest of my life, however long it may be, with you. Will you marry me?"

Her eyes filled with tears. "Yes!" He slipped the ring onto her finger, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

Elated, they parted, hands still clasped.

"Oh, Roger…" Mimi murmured, her eyes dancing.

"I love you," he told her.

"You idiot, I know that!" she said gently. "I love you, too." Then she smiled mischievously. "What do you say we move this party downstairs?"

"I was thinking the same thing." He grinned and swept her off her feet as they left the Loft for the night.

The candles burned on, dancing merrily.

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A/N; Couldn't find a way to end it. Hope you enjoyed! Leave a review at the beep...-Beep- 


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